The initial 52 farms issued conditional cultivator licenses by the NYS Cannabis Control Board

The State Cannabis Control Board has approved 52 conditional cultivator licenses to farms.

These are the first adult-use cannabis licenses granted in New York State and they advance the Seeding Opportunity Initiative.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the approved licenses are from a pool of more than 150 that have been submitted to the Office of Cannabis Management following the March 15 opening of the online application portal. She said the OCM is reviewing applications on a rolling basis and to get them to the Board for approval as quickly as possible.

In February, Hochul signed legislation creating the Cannabis Conditional Cultivator Licenses and then in March, she announced the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, which positions equity-entrepreneurs to be the first to make adult-use cannabis sales in New York with products grown by New York farmers.

Under the Initiative, these initial equity-entrepreneur, retail owners must meet two prongs of eligibility to qualify. First, they must have a cannabis-related conviction that occurred prior to the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA) on March 31, 2021, or had a parent, guardian, child, spouse, or dependent with a pre-MRTA cannabis-related conviction in the State of New York. Second, they must also have experience owning and operating a successful business in the State of New York.